


The Anniversary Waltz

by Silverstreams



Category: Portal, Portal (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Some Fluff, caveline
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2019-08-01 18:57:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16289975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silverstreams/pseuds/Silverstreams
Summary: And you were a little too drunk and a little too happy and for once, everything was going right in your life.Caroline gets a little drunk at an office party and Cave convinces her to dance with him.





	The Anniversary Waltz

He’d been asking you to dance all night.

“Oh, I don’t dance, sir,” you’d said every time with a small laugh. You’d glanced down into your glass of champagne as the song slipped into the next one, and he disappeared back into the party. 

The yearly company anniversary: always a big deal at Aperture. Every year was bigger and brighter, as if they were approaching some distant star and grew ever-so bathed in its light.

You took another sip of the champagne, looking around this interconnected series of rooms that they’d cleared out just for this event.   
  
Every year, it got bigger and bigger, and as they moved up through the ranks and up through the world, so grew the annual invite list to the company party. Costs went up as well – the decorations, the refreshments, the number of individual memos sent out to every employee, high-ranking or not. It was meant to be a celebration of all of the people of Aperture, and all that they did. This was the one time of the year when you didn’t risk getting another department to cater the food, or to leave them in charge of it. You’d made that mistake before, in the interest of saving on delivery fees. That had ended up with a company-wide sick day due to food poisoning.

Little pods of scientists, of maintenance staff, of administrative staff, puddled and pooled along the edges of the room. They moved about, people flowing in and out of social groups like little flies around a pond. You enjoyed watching this flow of energy, finding strength in their enthusiasm and the laughter that only grew louder as this night ticked onward.

You leaned back against the wall, thinking for not the first time that you shouldn’t have worn such high heels. With no one watching, you leaned your free hand down, slipped a foot out of your shoe, and rubbed gently at your heel.

You almost didn’t notice as he settled against the wall next to you, two sparking glasses in his hands. He looked over at you for a long moment, then followed your gaze across the room.

“So,” said Cave Johnson, at a surprisingly normal volume. “You know you don’t get to know people by staring them to death, right?”

You gave a small startle, thankful that you didn’t have a full glass to spill all over you. Just what you needed – spilling a drink all over yourself in front of your boss, no less the founder and CEO of the company.

“I like to watch,” you said, firm in your choice. Observing people was much easier than interacting with them, after all.

Cave Johnson gave a raise of the eyebrows, and then handed you the full glass of champagne. You wordlessly accept, trading him for the empty one in your hand. His hand briefly brushes yours; you smile and glance down at your hands. You took a sip, looking over the edge of the glass to see what he says next.

The mood of the room shifted as the song changed once again. Cave Johnson have a brief smile back, and then gave a small shake of his head as if something had just popped into his head. “You know,” he said. “If you’re not going to go out and make friends, then you’ve at least got to dance with me.”

The notes spilled out of the live band’s instruments, a Vera Lynn song pulling Caroline back into memories of years past. Songs spinning gently on records. Dim, candle-lit evenings.

“Sir,” she said, with a slightly dismissive laugh. “People will notice.”

It was the same fear she faced every year – the fear that if she let their relationship drift too far away from strictly professional and farther and farther into friendship, that people would start talking behind her back. They’d start to treat her differently, too. She’d seen it happen before and she did not want to be one of those girls.

“You think I care?” said Cave Johnson. His voice bounced out, much more like his exuberant, daytime self. He placed his hand around the top of her glass and lifted them both away. “C'mon Caroline. Have some fun,” he said.

And you were a little too drunk and a little too happy, and for once, everything was going right in your life. You smiled and hooked your arm around his elbow, letting him lead you into a slow dance.

 _Let this be the answer_  
_To our future years_  
_Through millions of smiles_    
_And a few little tears_  
_May I always listen to_  
_The Anniversary Waltz_  
_With you_


End file.
